Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 13, 1994 TAG: 9411140089
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
HAVING ELECTED a new board, the Roanoke Valley SPCA says its transformation is real.
The Roanoke Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has weathered one of its most trying years, and its leaders say the organization has emerged from the mire renewed.
Some may have trouble swallowing the message, though, because the rebirth and transformation theme has been heard before at the SPCA.
It was heard after the controversy surrounding the failed raffling of a home in 1983, then the embezzlement of shelter funds and the suicide of the former board president.
Most recently, members tried to unseat then-board President Steve Davidson and other incumbent board members in December 1993.
But Davidson said this time is different. The SPCA really has changed.
"If you look at it," Davidson said, ``you'll see that it's much different than it was a year ago, or even two or three years ago.''
And there's proof, he said. Take Thursday's board elections. Unlike last year's power struggle, this year's election was quiet.
The proposed slate was accepted. Davidson stepped down as president, and Frank VanBalen, former vice president, took over.
But perhaps more remarkably, both the members and the numbers agree with Davidson's assertion that the SPCA has changed.
About a year ago, Waine Tomlinson, founder of the League for Animal Protection and SPCA member, was at the forefront of the SPCA dispute. He campaigned vehemently with picket signs and sometimes harsh words.
But times have changed. Today his relationship with the "new" SPCA is harmonious.
"We're trying to work together," Tomlinson said. "People at the SPCA and myself realized how much time and energy we were wasting in mortal combat ... There were instances where we could've helped, but we didn't because we were fighting each other."
That realization brought acceptance and change.
"The SPCA is not about staging protests," Tomlinson said, ``but our group believes you can stage a peaceful protest and not be radical. We're more confrontational than they are. And we've decided to live with the differences.''
It doesn't mean they always agree. For example, Tomlinson and some other SPCA members believe it's a conflict of interest for veterinarians to be voting members on the SPCA board.
But now, instead of demonstrations and shouting matches, the groups "agree to disagree."
"It'll never go back to that [chaos] again ... It's not worth not being able to sleep at night, worrying about people's feelings that were hurt," Tomlinson said.
The result: Morale is up, and so are pet adoptions.
Last month, the SPCA's shelter, which serves as the pound for Roanoke, Vinton, and the counties of Roanoke, Craig and Botetourt, set a record of 17 adoptions in one day. Adoptions are about 88 percent ahead of the numbers for this time last year, Davidson said.
Both Davidson and VanBalen credit leadership by the shelter's executive director, Al Alexander, for the increase.
"Mr. Alexander's ascension to the role of executive director of the shelter was the turning point," Davidson said. ``We got a new beginning when we shook up the personnel.''
Since Alexander took over the total operation of the shelter after Tammy Javier's publicly scrutinized dismissal, he has quietly gone about the business of literally cleaning up the shelter and its operations.
When people walk into the shelter, they no longer are assaulted by the stench of animal feces. Instead, the smell of disinfectant permeates the air. And empty cages have replaced overcrowded ones.
"We've accomplished a lot in the last 11 months," Alexander said. ``More animals are alive, mainly.''
The board also has gotten more involved since "the change in personnel." Bridget Quatmann, a veterinarian and board member, is in the shelter on a regular basis, training the euthanasia technicians and helping out with animals.
"I became a board member in September or October '93,'' Quatmann said, ``and I did not set foot in that shelter before [Javier was dismissed]. Now I'm in there on a regular basis.''
In addition to bringing in board members, Alexander also is consulting with outside agencies to get guidance on how to improve the shelter. But his primary goal is "to make sure the kids get good homes," he said.
The increase in adoptions and fund-raisers like "An Evening for the Animals" have provided a financial reprieve for the usually cash-strapped organization.
As a result, the SPCA broke even in September. It was not the first time; in the past couple of years, the SPCA's monthly balance sheet has been in the black three or four times. But it did signal a change in momentum.
Although the SPCA still will finish its fiscal year in March with about a $10,000 deficit, it is a marked improvement from last year, when its closing books were about $40,000 in the red, Davidson said.
And these financial gains bring the organization closer to its goal of the past 20 years to move from its easily flooded Eastern Avenue Northeast location.
by CNB